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  • The Week In British Wrestling: Will Ospreay vs. Mark Andrews do it again

    By Alan Boon for WrestlingObserver.com

    It may be late November, and the weather may have taken a turn for the cold and wet, but things are still heating up on the UK wrestling scene. Here are five things you need to know about British wrestling this week.

    1) Will Ospreay and Mark Andrews proved lightning can strike twice.

    When Will Ospreay and Mark Andrews stepped through the ropes at Pro-Wrestling Guerilla’s yearly BOLA extravaganza in August, few thought they’d be two of the standout stars on a card full of the biggest names in independent wrestling (and a sprinkling of lucha, to boot). Once they’d finished their first round bout, few were in doubt of that status. Ospreay, only in his fourth year as a pro, and Andrews, criminally underused in TNA after winning last year’s British Bootcamp competition, put themselves on the worldwide map but only cemented what British fans already knew.

    On Sunday, at the Electric Ballroom in Camden, London, they met again, and put their summer contest firmly in the shade with a jaw-dropping display of head-dropping and acrobatics that had the sellout crowd on their feet and wowed. For Ospreay, it was just the latest in a series of 2015 contests that have seen him rocket up everyone’s top 20 lists, while for Andrews, it was a reminder that he’s back in the main event mix on this side of the Atlantic. We’re happy to see him again.

    2) You can’t halt the march of PROGRESS.

    As 750 people crammed into the Electric Ballroom for the final time in 2015, I’m sure the thoughts of more than a few PROGRESS “ultras” turned to the year-to-date, which saw the culmination of the Jimmy Havoc storyline, the first Super Strong Style 16 Tournament, and a string of sellout shows. By the end of the show – Chapter 23: What A Time To Be Alive! – those other shows and that other stuff, was distant history. Aside from the main event, the aforementioned masterpiece theatre for the PROGRESS title, the rest of the show (six matches, plus two pre-show bouts) reached highs in terms of hard-hitting – Rampage Brown and Austria’s Big Daddy Walter just about broke the ring in the opening bout – and lows in terms of pesky shenanigans – heel stable The Origin finagled their way to the tag-team titles AND a shot at the title at next week’s debut show in Manchester – and had just about everything in between.

    While the absence of Jimmy Havoc leaves a big hole in the shows, such was his influence in a two-year reign of terror, things look very promising for 2016, with monthly London shows and bi-monthly forays up North. That begins early with Chapter 24: Hit The North on Sunday (another sellout), this time in England’s third city. Ospreay defends his title against Zack Gibson, with Zack Sabre Jr. and Tomasso Ciampa joining the regular crew. News on that next week…

    3) Preston isn’t just the home of Wade Barrett; it’s also Ring of Honor’s British base.

    Back in the days of Big Daddy & Giant Haystacks, it used to be that the heavyweights sold tickets but the lighter weights brought the entertainment. That still holds true but the heavyweights have been replaced in recent years by former WWE and TNA imports, and the lighter weights by younger, local talent. Nowhere has that formula been more successful than at Preston City Wrestling, whose promoter Steven Fludder has brought a parade of “name” stars (often in conjunction with memorabilia fairs) to the North West for autograph signings, special appearances, and the odd match, and kept the fans wowed with some of the UK’s top talent.

    This past weekend, though, and for the second year in a row, PCW brought over a ton of ROH stars, including current ROH champion Jay Lethal, alongside Dalton Castle, Adam Cole, reDRagon, Cedric Alexander, and War Machine for the Supershow Of Honor. Although no local star was able to top Lethal, over 2000 fans attended the weekend shows to witness the ROH and UK talent trade wins across four shows. PCW heavyweight champion Dave Mastiff also fought off all-comers, but Adam Cole was able to steal away the Cruiserweight belt from el Ligero, promising to keep hold for a long time.

    4) Rebellious Scots won’t be crushed.

    Two weeks on from their MASSIVE Fear & Loathing supershow at Glasgow’s SECC, Insane Championship Wrestling picked up their storylines at the puntastic Fear & Lothian show, held at in the heart of Lothian at Edinburgh’s City nightclub. The success of ICW has been built on a foundation of love for WWF’s Attitude Era and classic ECW, and the swerve was in early as former general manager Red Lightning revealed he was, in fact, majority owner of the company and would do everything he could to rid ICW of its incredi-popular champion, Grado.

    Luckily for ICW’s fans, Red Lightning’s chosen man, Lionheart (fresh from being HATED at PCW’s Supershow Of Honor weekend), came up short, but New Age Kliq main man Chris Renfrew announced he would cash in his title shot at the company’s next big show, Square Go in Glasgow on January 24th. Noam Dar also earned a title shot at Square Go by winning a number one contenders’ match for Davey Blaze’s Zero-G championship – that’s if Blaze makes it through the next couple of TV tapings without Stevie Boy and the NAK taking him out.

    5) There’s so much going on!

    Elsewhere, the Scottish Wrestling Alliance held a big show at the Lagoon Centre, in Paisley, which saw Mark Coffey pin Drew Galloway to become the new SWA champion and appearances from Will Ospreay, Grado, Jack Gallagher, Kenny Williams, and Viper. Ahead of bringing in Pentagon Jr and Drago (and, erm, Tatanka) in January, 4 Front Wrestling opened their doors in Emerson Green in Bristol on Saturday night, and drew a healthy crowd for a show headlined by an eight-man elimination match, featuring the Hunter Brothers and Saul Adams.

    Earlier in the week, PROGRESS held the third of their PTNTL trainee shows at a new venue, Nambucca, in north London. The show featured ProJo trainees of all levels of development, and was main-evented by a six-man featuring the promotion’s most senior rookies which saw the team of Sweet Bearded Jesus – California hippy surfer Chuck Mambo, full-bearded Kyle Ashmore & Pastor William Eaver defeat Hong Kong’s Shen Woo, the bruiser Damon Moser & the outrageous Jack Sexsmith by pinfall. Also of note was Kamikaze-Pro’s latest show in the chocolate town of Bournville, Birmingham, starring Rhyno, Juventud Guerrera, Jody Fleisch, Jonny Storm, the Dunne Brothers, and Tyler Bate.

    Next weekend sees PROGRESS make their way to Manchester for the first time, Lucha Britannia run a rare Saturday, Pro-Wrestling CHAOS end their year in Bristol, and WAW & Bellatrix promoting a double-shot in Norwich, featuring the top UK women’s talent, as well as WWE star Paige’s father, mother, and brothers! Join me then for all the news that’s fit to print!

    (Special thanks to Ben Corrigan for contributing to this report!)

  • Looking at the options for UFC free agent Benson Henderson

    In the morning hours here in North America, former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson fought Jorge Masvidal in the main event of the UFC’s debut in Seoul, South Korea — the last fight on his UFC contract. Now a free agent, the 32-year-old veteran is near the peak of his game and will be either an attractive acquisition or solid re-signing for the company that manages to secure his services.

    In the past few years, many fighters considered top 10 in their weight class have been cut loose by UFC much to the outcry of hardcore fight fans who felt that if UFC was to be taken seriously as a sport, they shouldn’t let top tier talent walk away. But with Henderson, it’s different. Guys like Phil Davis, Jon Fitch, Jake Shields, and Yushin Okami were still top contenders but didn’t move ratings or PPV buys (proven when they went elsewhere), weren’t serious title contenders, and carried high price tags. While UFC runs a lot of cards and could use the depth that these guys provide, they also have a future to think of and names like the ones I’ve listed here were essentially roadblocks for younger talent to make their way to the top.

    This is why someone like Henderson is very important. He could arguably be a top 10 competitor at either 155 or 170, and is someone that can very easily headline an FS 1 or Fight Pass card. He also fits in nicely in a co-main event position on a FOX show or PPV. The top of the show is familiar territory for him as in 14 UFC fights, he has been in either the main or co-main event position all but two times. And on one occasion, it could be argued that he was in the co-main (UFC on FOX 1), since only the main event fight aired on television.

    On those shows, Henderson has delivered in terms of ratings or PPV buys…for the most part. Here’s a look*, listed by most recent appearance:

    • Fight Night 60 (main event vs Brandon Thatch) – 913,000 viewers on FS 1 (above average vs. an opponent with very little name recognition)
    • Fight Night 59 (co-main vs Donald Cerrone) – 2,751,000 viewers on FS 1 (record number obviously powered by Conor McGregor, but this was a strong co-main)
    • Fight Night 49 (main event vs Rafael Dos Anjos) – 689,000 viewers on FS 1 (below average,, but this was a very weak undercard and during a very down period for UFC)
    • Fight Night 42 (main event vs Rustam Khabilov) – 1,217,000 viewers on FS 1 (2nd highest FS 1 number at the time against an opponent with no name recognition)
    • UFC on FOX 10 (main event vs Josh Thomson) – 3.2 million viewers on FOX (above average)
    • UFC 164 (main event vs Anthony Pettis) – 270,000 PPV buys (the second highest number for a show headlined by a lightweight title defence that didn’t involve BJ Penn up to that point)
    • UFC on FOX 7 (Main event vs Gilbert Melendez) – 3.7 million viewers on FOX (well above average)
    • UFC on FOX 5 (main event vs Nate Diaz) – 4.4 million viewers on FOX (3rd highest number ever for UFC on that station)
    • UFC 150 (main event vs Frankie Edgar) – 190,000 PPV buys (very weak number for the period. Probably too soon after their first fight, which did very well
    • UFC 144 (main Event vs Frankie Edgar) – 375,000 PPV buys (still the highest number for a show headlined by a Lightweight title defence that didn’t involve BJ Penn)
    • UFC on Versus 5 (co-main vs Jim Miller) – 766,000 viewers on Versus (second highest number of the year on the station for a show with a weak main event of Dan Hardy vs Chris Lytle)

    *His other two UFC fights were on the undercards of the first UFC on FOX show and UFC 129, both of which did monster numbers that had next to nothing to do with him.

    Clearly, he’s made a difference for a number of years and should continue to do so as his skills haven’t diminished and as recently as this year, he was still doing very strong numbers for UFC. He’d be valuable for Bellator as they hope to bring bigger TV ratings to Spike TV, and would likely be favored in a fight against either their welterweight champion Andrei Koreshkov or lightweight champion Will Brooks. A win by either of those champions would legitimize those divisions in the eyes of fans and a win by Henderson would give them greater exposure and provide marketability that no fighter still in his prime has had for the company.

    Asian MMA company ONE Championships would be another viable option. They run shows that draw big crowds in southeast Asia on more or less a monthly basis but have yet to make any real kind of dent in the North American market despite their shows being available on iPPV. A star the level of Henderson could help them get that foothold there while also helping ticket sales in that region, where he is very popular due to his maternal family being from the area.

    Henderson is in a rare position where the UFC needs him as much as the outside companies do, maybe even more. Many cards that the UFC runs are somewhat skippable these days but having someone of his caliber on the marquee makes his fight almost a must-see. He almost always has the best fight on the show, and is one of the more skilled fighters in the world in two different weight classes.

    Fighters like this do not become available all the time and Henderson should be in a position to almost name his price.

  • UFC Fight Night 79 DFS Playbook: value picks, who to avoid

    The UFC returns for the fourth straight Saturday for their final event in the month of November. The Octagon heads to Seoul, South Korea for the first time for UFC Fight Night 79, headlined by a five-round welterweight bout between Benson Henderson and Jorge Masvidal. Let’s take a look at some fighters to target for your fantasy line-ups for the event.

    STUDS

    Dong Hyun Kim ($11,100)

    Dong Hyun Kim is the biggest betting favorite and the highest-salaried fighter on the UFC Fight Night 79 card. He fights a short-notice opponent who has yet to taste victory in the UFC. Kim hasn’t scored a lot of points, fantasy-wise, in his recent UFC bouts, but he is coming off of a submission win over Josh Burkman in May. He is a much-higher class fighter than his opponent, Dominic Waters, and he should be able to use his judo skills and striking to get the win. I expect him to finish Waters, and probably early, and he is a very good bet to score you a great amount of points on Saturday.

    Fredy Serrano ($10,400)

    Fredy Serrano enters just his third official professional MMA bout on Saturday, but he already has a good bit of hype being a member of the Colombian wrestling team in the 2008 Olympics. He has been impressive in his short career, with two wins by finish, and with his wrestling background and power in his hands, he has a very good chance at scoring a lot of points on Saturday. His opponent, Yao Zhikui, is just 2-2 in his career and hasn’t been overly impressive. Serrano is a fighter I like a lot on this card to do some damage.

    VALUE PICKS

    Alberto Mina ($9,200)

    Alberto Mina is a perfect 11-0 in his professional career. All eleven wins have come by finish, and he has been out of the first round just twice in his career. He has power in his hands, feet and knees, and he has a slick submission game. With all of that said, he has a low salary on Saturday. A lot of it has to do with his inactivity having fought just twice in the last four years, and more to do with his opponent, Yoshihiro Akiyama. Akiyama is a good wrestler who tends to rely too much on his striking, and that costs him fights. This is also a reminder that Akiyama is just 1-4 in his last five fights. Mina is a very solid value pick on this card.

    Sam Sicilia ($8,900)

    Sam Sicilia is looking to score his third straight win as he comes into UFC Fight Night 79. He is a live underdog play at a low salary as he takes on the tough Doo Ho Choi, who has won ten straight bouts. Sicilia has more experience inside the Octagon and these two have been scheduled to fight twice before, with Choi pulling out of the fight both times. Perhaps that will give Sicilia some extra motivation to finish Choi. Choi is a young and rising fighter, but Sicilia has that grittiness to get the job done. He is worth a shot if you are looking for a low-risk, low-salary, high-reward fighter.

    AVOID

    Jake Collier ($10,000)

    Jake Collier has a decent salary as he looks to score his second straight win when he takes on Dongi Yang, who makes his UFC return in his home country of South Korea. Collier hasn’t been overly impressive in the UFC, with a 1-1 record, and his lone win coming by a close split decision. He faces a tough wrestler in Yang, and one who can avoid being hit. Yang will look to land the takedowns on Collier and be the aggressor on the feet. At his salary point, Collier is someone who I will look to avoid rostering.

    Seo Hee Ham ($9,100)

    Seo Hee Ham is one of the more experienced fighters in the UFC’s strawweight division as she sports a respectable 15-6 record. She lost her UFC debut to Joanne Calderwood, but it was a bout she took on short notice. However, when looking at her 15 wins, 13 have come by decision, and in fights where she didn’t inflict a lot of damage. She fights a tough opponent in Cortney Casey, who has been training with the Power MMA camp in Arizona. She doesn’t have a ton of experience with just six professional fights, but her four wins have all come by stoppage in the first round. It is not a favorable match-up for Ham, so we also recommend to avoid her on your roster.

    OUR LINE-UPS

    RYAN FREDERICK: Dong Hyun Kim ($11,100), Doo Ho Choi ($10,500), Fredy Serrano ($10,400), Alberto Mina ($9,200), Jorge Masvidal ($8,600)

    I like Dong Hyun Kim and Fredy Serrano for the reasons stated above. I see them at a much higher level than their opponents, and I think a finish is likely for both of them, and both of them to win early. I like Doo Ho Choi over Sam Sicilia. Sicilia definitely has the chance to finish Choi, but Choi is a rising prospect with a good bit of hype, and he has some good power and good submissions. Alberto Mina has a chance at scoring the upset over Yoshihiro Akiyama. Mina hasn’t fought anyone really, but he is 11-0 with 11 finishes, and that is something to be accounted for. His salary made it easier to spend up on some bigger fighters. The same goes with Jorge Masvidal. Masvidal is cheap and is an excellent fighter. He has a tough fight against Benson Henderson, but he lands a lot of strikes, has good takedowns and can pull off the upset if Henderson isn’t careful enough.

    PAUL FONTAINE: Dong Hyun Kim ($11,100), Mike de la Torre ($9,600), “Maestro” Dong Hyun Kim ($9,500), Dongi Yang ($9,400), Alberto Mina ($9,200)

    I’m picking both Dong Hyun Kim’s on my team cause it was just too juicy a prospect not to. But seriously, the one we’re all familiar with is a top contender who’s only lost once in his last 7 fights and that was to highly ranked Tyron Woodley. The second one, who will be making his debut, is a bit of an unknown but looking at his record, he’s won 7 of his last 8 fights, all by KO or submission. His opponent, Dominique Steele, lost his one and only UFC fight by KO so that seems like a likely outcome. Both guys will be hometown heroes in their native country so that should help. De La Torre came into UFC with a great reputation and I keep expecting him to finally put it all together so I’m putting him in my lineup with the hope that it happens here. Dongi Yang is returning to UFC after an impressive run outside the company, including a KO of former UFC title challenger Dennis Hallman in his last fight. His opponent Jake Collier has  had a loss and a split decision win in his two UFC fights so he’s not exactly setting the world on fire. My final pick is Alberto Mina, the unbeaten Brazilian who has won all of his fights by finish including his one and only UFC fight. His opponent Akiyama is one of the more overrated fighters on the roster with just one win in the last 6 1/2 years.

    PEACH MACHINE: Benson Henderson ($10,800), Doo Ho Choi ($10,500), Mike de la Torre ($9,600), Leo Kuntz ($9,300), Alberto Mina ($9,200)

    I’m a big fan of Masvidal, but he’s out of his league with Bendo, who looked great his first time out at 170.  Bendo has fought in Asia and is part Korean, so he’s got the home field advantage.  That’s my only real pick.  I selected four other guys I liked, then picked the opposite, because my recent picks have been terrible.  It could be a bad night out for me, but couldn’t possibly be any worse.  I do like de la Torre to finish but other than that, I’m really picking guys who I think will lose.  We will see.

  • UFC Fight Night 79 Preview: 5 storylines to watch, betting odds & predictions

    The UFC spends Thanksgiving weekend bringing the Octagon to South Korea for the first time for UFC Fight Night 79 on Saturday. The event will be streamed live on UFC Fight Pass with an early morning start time, or late-night start time depending on which coast you live in, with an eleven-fight card in Seoul, South Korea. The action kicks off with preliminary card action at 5 AM eastern time heading into the main card kicking off at 8 AM eastern time.

    The event will be headlined by a five-round bout in the welterweight division as former UFC and WEC Lightweight Champion Benson Henderson fights at 170 pounds for the second time when he takes on Jorge Masvidal, who replaced Thiago Alves in the headline bout. In the co-main event, it will be South Korea’s own Dong Hyun Kim, looking to score his second straight win, taking on Dominic Waters, who stepped in to replace Masvidal. Also on the card is the return of “Sexyama” as Yoshihiro Akiyama takes on Alberto Mina. Let’s take a deeper look into the action and give you five storylines to keep your eye on for Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 79 event.

    1. Will this be Benson Henderson’s last fight in the UFC?

    Benson Henderson enters the main event of UFC Fight Night 79 at a pivotal point in his career. This will be the final fight on Henderson’s contract with the UFC, and he will be testing the free agent market following Saturday’s event. Henderson is a former UFC and WEC lightweight champion with a 22-5 record in his career. If you were to rank all of the 500-plus UFC fighters in order, odds are Henderson would be ranked in the top 25. He has been a top-five lightweight in the world for the last six years, and as he has moved up to welterweight for the time being, he has shown he has the chance to be a threat there as well. He has just three losses inside the Octagon- losing the championship to Anthony Pettis, who just has Henderson’s number, a flash knockout to current champion Rafael Dos Anjos, and a close split decision loss to Donald Cerrone in January, the man getting the next title shot.

    It all comes down to how Henderson wants to test the market. Times are different these days with the Reebok deal and the opportunities to promote sponsors in the UFC being slim. Bellator has shown that they will go after high-profile fighters, and while the sponsorship issue doesn’t exist there, the exposure there hasn’t been the best, and their top fighters are getting pushed down the card in lieu of the likes of Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock and Kimbo Slice. Henderson is a bonafide main event fighter, and he is one of the best in the world. He will command a solid contract, but he belongs in the UFC. The competition is the best there, and if he wants to truly show he is the best, he re-signs when all is said and done. Henderson is the biggest name to find himself in this position since the Reebok deal was fully implemented in July, and it will be interesting to see how this plays out. Win or lose, I see him being back in the UFC, but his position makes for an interesting question heading into Saturday night’s event, when he takes on Jorge Masvidal in the headline bout.

    2. Will Jorge Masvidal spoil Benson Henderson’s night on Saturday?

    Jorge Masvidal gets his first UFC main event on Saturday night, taking on Benson Henderson in the five-round welterweight headliner, and it is a fight Masvidal is taking on short notice. He was scheduled for the card against Dong Hyun Kim, but it was a three-round bout. He now takes a five-round bout against a much different opponent, and one that he was scheduled to fight in April when both were competing at 155 pounds. Both are now at 170 pounds and looking to establish themselves as contenders. Masvidal has won four of his last five fights, with the lone loss coming in a close split decision to Al Iaquinta, a fight more remembered for Iaquinta’s post-fight tirade. Masvidal moved up to welterweight following that fight, and he had a strong knockout of Cezar Ferreira in July in his UFC welterweight debut.

    Henderson will come in as the big crowd favorite being of Korean descent, and with him being in his current position as noted above, Masvidal will be looking to spoil the party in the main event. Masvidal has the tools to be a threat in whichever division he competes in, and he seems more comfortable at 170 pounds as he doesn’t have to make the huge weight cut or worry too much about missing weight, though there were slight issues in his first drop back down. Henderson is one of the best in the world and Masvidal will have his opportunity to prove he belongs in the discussion. Masvidal has very good boxing and power, and Henderson is the better grappler and one who excels in bringing pressure. Henderson is an experienced five-round fighter while Masvidal has had just one over the years, a title fight loss to Gilbert Melendez in Strikeforce. Henderson is the favorite, and for good reason, but Masvidal a solid chance to score the upset.

    3. Will Dong Hyun Kim score the win in his home country?

    There are actually two fighters named Dong Hyun Kim on the fight card, a first in the UFC, but it is the veteran welterweight, otherwise known as “Stun Gun”, who comes into Saturday’s event as the biggest favorite on the fight card. He competes in the co-main event, and it will be his first fight in his native country of South Korea since 2004. This will be the 16th fight in the UFC career of Kim, who holds an 11-3 with 1 no contest record inside the Octagon, and he remains a top-ten ranked fighter. However, he has always had trouble getting inside the top five, and every top opponent he has fought has ended with him on the losing side. Kim hopes to reverse that curse, and while he doesn’t have a top-level opponent in this bout, the hope for Kim is that a big win in his home country will give him that extra boost towards title contention.

    He fights Dominic Waters, a man who took the fight on short notice looking to score the huge upset and get his first UFC win. Waters is an opponent to not take lightly as he comes from a good camp and has solid skills, but Kim is a tough opponent to fight no matter if you take the fight on two weeks’ notice like Waters did, or if you get the full eight weeks of a training camp to prepare for. Kim is an excellent judoka and has been improving his striking. Despite being 34-years-old, Kim doesn’t feel like a finished product, but has some hurdles to still overcome, one being his tendency to start off slow. It would be in Waters’ best interest to come out aggressive and try and catch Kim early, but Kim’s striking and overall suffocating top game will begin to take over the fight in the early stages of the opening round. This is a fight Kim is made to win, and he will get the job done.

    4. How much does Yoshihiro Akiyama have left?

    Yoshihiro Akiyama is a popular fighter who hasn’t quite lived up to the high expectations given to him when he signed with the UFC in 2009. He has had a tough road, and injuries haven’t helped him at all as he has missed a lot of action over the six years, having fought an average of just once a year during his UFC tenure. He was out of action for nearly 31 months following a February 2012 loss to Jake Shields, but he returned in September 2014 to score a decision win over Amir Sadollah, which ended a four-fight losing streak. He hasn’t fought since that win, having done some acting work since then, but he returns in South Korea, where he has a big following being a Korean descent.

    He will be taking on Alberto Mina, who is undefeated with an 11-0 record in his career, but he also has been out of action for a while. He hasn’t fought since a TKO win in his UFC debut over Shinsho Anzai in August 2014, and he actually has the same amount of fights in the last four years as Akiyama has. Mina is heavy-handed and has a solid submission game, so Akiyama will need to establish his wrestling to take Mina down and establish some ground-and-pound from the top. Akiyama looked good in his win over Sadollah, but he still has a tendency to wanna rely on his striking to win fights. Mina will make him pay with a slew of various attacks, from kicks to knees, and Akiyama’s chin has been battered before. Akiyama should use constant pressure and keep Mina out of range with his wrestling. This is a toss-up fight and one that will show if Akiyama has anything left in his tank.

    5. What else is there to look out for on the card?

    Filling out the main card is a featherweight bout between prospect Doo Ho Choi and “TUF” veteran Sam Sicilia. This is a fight that has been attempted to be made on two separate occasions, but injuries to Choi have caused the delay of the fight both times. They were set to fight at UFC 173 in May and again at UFC Fight Night 71 in July, and Sicilia wound up competing on both cards, winning fights over Aaron Phillips and Yaotzin Meza. Choi has one fight in the UFC, an 18-second TKO win over Juan Puig last November, and he has won ten straight fights and 12 of his 13 professional bouts. He is a knockout artist, much like Sicilia, and this fight has fireworks written all over it and a very good chance at winning “Fight Of The Night”.

    Another fighter to keep an eye on, this time in the preiminary card, is Fredy Serrano. Serrano is a former Olympian in wrestling for Colombia, competing in the same weight class that was won by current flyweight contender Henry Cejudo in the 2008 Olympics. Serrano retired from wrestling in 2013 and moved to MMA. He was on the first season of “TUF: Latin America” but lost to eventual winner Alejandro Perez. He made his UFC debut in March, scoring a third-round knockout win over Bentley Syler. Serrano has just a 2-0 record during his professional career, but also wins in two unsanctioned fights. He has the wrestling pedigree and has shown some great knockout power, and is a definite prospect in the growing flyweight division.

    Full UFC Fight Night 79 Fight Card, Betting Odds and Predictios

    MAIN CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 8 AM ET/5 AM PT)

    Welterweights: (#7 LW) Benson Henderson vs. Jorge Masvidal
    Betting Odds:     Henderson (-260), Masvidal (+220)
    Prediction: Henderson by decision

    Welterweights: (#7) Dong Hyun Kim vs. Dominic Waters
    Betting Odds:     Kim (-750), Waters (+525)
    Prediction: Kim by submission in round 1

    Welterweights: Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Alberto Mina
    Betting Odds:     Akiyama (-150), Mina (+130)
    Prediction: Akiyama by decision

    Featherweights: Doo Ho Choi vs. Sam Sicilia
    Betting Odds:     Choi (-240), Sicilia (+200)
    Prediction: Choi by knockout in round 2

    PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 5 AM ET/2 AM PT)

    Middleweights: Dongi Yang vs. Jake Collier
    Betting Odds:     Yang (+115), Collier (-135)
    Prediction: Yang by decision

    Featherweights: Yui Chul Nam vs. Mike de la Torre
    Betting Odds:     Nam (-120), Torre (+100)
    Prediction: Nam by decision

    Lightweights: Tae Hyun Bang vs. Leo Kuntz
    Betting Odds:     Bang (-135), Kuntz (+115)
    Prediction: Bang by submission in round 2

    Women’s Strawweights: Seo Hee Ham vs. Cortney Casey
    Betting Odds:     Ham (+145), Casey (-165)
    Prediction: Casey by decision

    Flyweights: Yao Zhikui vs. Fredy Serrano
    Betting Odds:     Zhikui (+155), Serrano (-175)
    Prediction: Serrano by knockout in round 2

    Bantamweights: Ning Guangyou vs. Marco Beltran
    Betting Odds:     Guangyou (-185), Beltran (+160)
    Prediction: Guangyou by decision

    Welterweights: Dominique Steele vs. “Maestro” Dong Hyun Kim
    Betting Odds:     Steele (-130), Kim (+110)
    Prediction: Kim by decision

  • WSOF 25: a bad idea on paper & even worse in execution

    You may have missed it (and judging from the ratings, a lot of people did) but last Friday, World Series of Fighting ran a one-night tournament for a shot at Justin Gaethje’s lightweight belt. This piece isn’t about the quality of the fights that, for the most part, were very good. This is about the absurdity of running a one night tournament in 2015 and the absolutely terrible job the promotion did in putting it on. Everything from the presentation to the commentary to the decisions made in regards to the tournament were lacking and made the promotion come off as anything but major league.

    For starters, the show was built around eight guys in a tournament who were all fighting their opening round fights at WSOF.com where almost no one watches. For the viewers watching only on television, they had no idea who was fighting: a recipe for ratings disaster. They also ran into an issue where the bigger names in the tournament wouldn’t make it onto the televised show which happened with former UFC TUF prospect Mike Ricci, the most familiar name to casual fans, who won his first round fight but was unable to continue in the tourney.

    Bellator MMA just tried a version of a tourney in September with similar results. The show did very poorly in the ratings and they were forced to scramble after King Mo was injured in his opening round win and was unable to continue. In that case, as with this tournament, they had a reserve bout. Francis Carmont, the winner of the reserve bout, took Mo’s place in the tourney. In the WSOF case, Ramil Mustapayev, a Russian prospect on a four-fight win streak, won his fight and looked very impressive. Despite two people being injured in their opening round fights (Islam Mamedov was the other), Mustapayev didn’t advance. This despite the fact that commentator Chael Sonnen spent the whole fight talking about how everyone in the back was worried about having to face this guy later on.

    As an aside, in the reserve fight, Sonnen was going over the rules of the fight and said that it would be two rounds and that there were no elbows allowed. He didn’t say anything about foot stomps. When the second round ended, I assumed they would go to the judges but there was a third round, and the refs were warning people all night about foot stomps. Sonnen openly criticized them about that at one point. No explanation was given as to what would happen if the two rounds ended up tied though it never came into play.

    So, Mamedov and Ricci didn’t advance despite winning because they were too injured to continue. The rules of the tournament stated that if the winner couldn’t advance, the loser would take his place. Mamedov had beaten Jorge Patino, so Patino was allowed back in the tourney. Ricci’s opponent, Joe Condon, couldn’t continue either as he was knocked out. No explanation was given as to why reserve bout winner Mustapayev wasn’t put into the tourney instead of Foster, who also lost his first round fight. He was submitted by Joao Zeferino and then went on to face him again in the finals of the tourney. Foster submitted Zeferino to win the tourney and earn the future title shot.

    For viewers who spent three hours watching the prelims online, their most loyal and hardcore fans, as late as 10 minutes before the start of the broadcast on NBC Sports Network, there were graphics on the screen advertising semifinal matches of Ricci vs. Patino and Zeferino vs Luis Palomino. Seemingly the fighters themselves had been preparing for these fights as well. They even had a reporter talking to Ricci after his fight in the back, and he said he was medically cleared and good to go for the next round. Yet, at some point, this all changed and when the broadcast version of the show started, Patino was in there against Zeferino, rather than Ricci. Later in the broadcast, Ray Sefo, the face of the company, was beaming about this development, saying anything can happen in a tournament.

    This brings me to something that may have bothered me more than anything on this show and speaks volumes about the overall professionalism of everyone in this company. After the opening round of the tournament was completed, they ran a couple of non-tournament matches to fill out the time before the main card started and these were also broadcast on NBCSN. The final fight was a bantamweight bout between Joe Barajas (11-1 going into this fight) and Erik Villalobos (4-4). The booking of a fight with two guys with such differing records is questionable and was even more apparent when the fight started and Barajas completely dominated his overmatched opponent.

    Except that’s not what the commentators were telling us.

    Bear in mind that the walkouts were aired, complete with graphics for each guy. The ring announcer introduced both fighters and identified them correctly. There was a graphic on the screen identifying each fighter by glove color. Both fighters had previously fought in the World Series of Fighting so there seemingly was tape on both of them for the commentators to study prior to the broadcast.

    There were four commentators for this fight for some reason; Todd Harris, Mike Corey, Sonnen and WSOF Middleweight and Light Heavyweight Champion David Branch. All four fighters commentated at various points of the first round and all identified Villalobos as dominating the fight. They talked about how surprising it was that he was dominating a guy with only one loss. Even between rounds, as the cornermen were talking to the fighters, they were saying that Barajas was going to have to regroup despite his corner (correctly) telling him he was doing great and to keep it up.

    About a minute into the second round, Sonnen interrupted either Harris or Corey mid-sentence and said something to the effect of “Guys, I have to stop you here. We’ve got these guys mixed up and Barajas is actually the one who’s winning”. He went on to admit that he’d never seen either guy and didn’t know alot about them, despite earlier in the fight going on and on about both of them (clearly reading notes that someone else had written).

    But that’s not all. At the start of the third, after Barajas was dominating to the point that it was obvious the ref could stop the fight at any time, Harris said, “So do you think that Barajas should continue this pace or try to save energy for later on in the tournament”.

    There was a long pause. Sonnen then said, “What the hell are you talking about?” and started laughing. He then explained to the viewers (who I’m sure were quite aware) that Branch was mistaken and this was not a tournament match. They were not even in the same weight class as the fighters in the tournament. He went on to call a waitress and ask if he could some of whatever Branch was drinking.

    I’m usually not this harsh on MMA broadcasts. As a fan of the sport, I especially like to watch these minor promotions to try and keep an eye out for future stars. As such, I’ve watched several minor promotions with nowhere near the exposure that an organization like WSOF has and certainly not the broadcast platform. Everyone involved with the production of this show should be embarrassed. Everyone, I should say, but the fighters themselves who gave it their all and put on for the most part a very entertaining show, especially the main card. I only wish the executives and commentators put as much effort into their jobs as the fighters did.

  • A look at WWE TLC 2012: Dolph Ziggler vs. John Cena for the MITB contract

    This week…

    TLC 4: December 16, 2012, Brooklyn, New York, Barclays Center

    This was the first WWE show ever at the Barclays Center. Cole, Lawler and JBL on the sticks. 

    – Dark Match:  JTG defeated David Otunga in a singles match

    – Pre-show Match: Naomi won the Santa’s Little Helper battle royal to determine the number one contender to the WWE Divas Championship, by eliminating Kaitlyn last

    Main:

    – Sin Cara and Rey Mysterio vs. Rhodes Scholars (Cody Rhodes and Damian Sandow) in a tables match to become the number one contenders to the tag team championship

    • How did they drop the ball on this team?  I love the Rhodes Scholars!
    • Only one member of the team has to go through the table.
    • King made a joke about manila envelopes that legit got Cole to crack.
    • Sandow has to be on that post Wrestlemania clearinghouse list with Alex Riley.
    • Fun match with some nice flying spots and a pretty sick bump for the finish.
    • Cody shoved Sin Cara off the top rope and it launched him through the table outside the ring.
    • Then Sandow did a cartwheel.  Why did they break up?  Why are we being punished with Stardust?

    – Antonio Cesaro (c) vs. R Truth for the WWE U.S. Championship

    • Cesaro’s old music was terrible.
    • I’ve heard that R Truth is Vince’s favorite wrestler.  How?
    • I’m glad Cesaro stopped wearing the weird leg wraps.
    • Cole with some accusations that JBL hides money in Swiss banks.  Then JBL corrected him and said his money was actually hidden in the Cayman Islands.  IRS, are you listening? 
    • Cesaro apparently has a real broken hand during this match. 
    • Is Little Jimmy still around? 
    • Cesaro wins with the Neutralizer.
    • Stryker then got in the ring and asked Cesaro what he thought about the crowd booing him?  Cesaro said he was the greatest U.S. Champion, which he may have been, until this last John Cena U.S. Championship Open run.

    Ugh, then we got a bunch of “Touts.”  Remember those awful things?  WWE kills everything it touches. 

    Josh Matthews interviews Dolph Ziggler about illegality, then Dolph says he will be the biggest star in 2013, and he will end John Cena’s career.

    Then the Miz is introduced and comes to the ring for a Miz TV segment.  I love all WWE in ring TV shows.  It’s hilarious to me that they put seats and couches in the ring on a red carpet.  I now hate this show, as he brought out Three Man Band.  I change my mind.  I love it again.  3MB claims they are better than Jay Z.  I’d agree.  Miz’s zingers must have been written by 6th graders.  Then 3MB does a rather racist angle by calling out the Spanish announce team and running them down for not speaking English.  Ricardo comes to the rescue but starts to get bullied, until Del Rio makes the save.  Finally, Miz and Del Rio clean house to save the Mexicans.  So it’s going to be Miz and Del Rio and a partner of their choice to take on 3MB later. 

    Now we see Kane and Daniel Bryan backstage as Team Hell No.  Short hair and medium beard Bryan seems so odd now.  They get hyped to take on The Shield later.

    Now Stryker interviews Wade Barrett.  I guess we’d seen too much wrestling in a row and needed five talking segments.

    Wade Barrett vs. Kofi Kingston (c) for the Intercontinental Championship, a.k.a. The Kiss of Death Championship

    • Wade is on a winning streak coming into this match.  Must have been nice.
    • Remember when the IC title made you the number one contender to the World title?  Which makes Kevin Owens next in line.  I’m fine with that.
    • Kofi beat Wade after an average match and a Trouble in Paradise kick.

    We now see CM Punk in a skybox with Paul Heyman.  Punk is on crutches.  He’s giving us a status update on his knee.  He’s wearing his Knees 2 Faces shirt, as he runs down Brooklyn and calls them dumb.  Hey now, words hurt too.  He then runs down Ryback, and reminds us that he is a fan of The Shield but not involved with them and that he’s the longest reigning WWE champion of the modern era.  Day 392.

    Ryback and Team Hell No (Kane and Daniel Bryan) vs. The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins) in the first ever six-man TLC tag match

    • Since no belts are hanging, this is basically just a weapons match. 
    • Poor Reigns is still having to do that dumb crowd entrance.
    • It starts in a big brawl. 
    • A lot of mainly ladder smashing spots.  Why would you ever climb in this match?  But… I’ll bet that happens anyway.
    • Ryback was going for a double shell shock.  I hope he gets it later.  Now it’s isolation on Ryback.
    • Reigns screams at the Spanish announce team.  Poor fellas.  Their table is about to get broken.  Triple power bomb by The Shield on Ryback through the table. 
    • The Shield is laying waste to all three guys with some interesting table stuff.
    • Ambrose took a choke slam through a chair, which looked like it sucked.
    • Reigns speared Kane through the barricade.  The timekeeper looked terrified. 
    • WWE rule number 2:  Don’t go for a belly to back suplex on Daniel Bryan.  He will back flip out of it. 
    • “This is Awesome,” chants for a match with Ryback, after, of course, the “Goldberg” chants.
    • I think Tim Kennedy could beat Ryback. 
    • This match is still going on.  The Shield is beating Ryback with chairs out on the ramp. 
    • Yep, Seth is climbing a ladder!  Ryback is climbing after him.  Ryback tossed him off the ladder through the double table stack.
    • Daniel Bryan was pinned by Reigns after a power bomb off the top turnbuckle through a table.
    • Fun match!

    Eve Torres vs. Naomi in a singles match for the WWE Divas Championship

    • Eve won with the neck breaker.  Then her husband told Ronda Rousey she was doing great after round one.  Great career advice.

    Big Show (c) vs. Sheamus for the World Championship in a chairs match

    • I really hope they cancel the chairs match this year. 
    • Chair shots are legal, but we’re supposed to believe that neither man has the desire to hit his hated rival in the head with one. 
    • Big Show Choke Slammed Seamus, but Seamus kicked out so Big Show went out and threw in 10 more chairs, because that will help.
    • Seamus hit White Noise on to some chairs, but Show kicked out.
    • Knock Out Punch by Show, and Seamus kicked out.  Big Show’s finish is a punch.  A punch!  Why doesn’t he win every match?
    • Big Show pulls out a monster-sized folding chair!  What?  Hilarious!  He hit Sheamus with the really large folding chair for the pin.  Why would that be under the ring?  Why would it exist?

    John Cena is backstage throwing air punches and AJ Lee walks up in a Cena shirt, which she cut to look girly.  Cena told her he was going to beat Dolph. 

    Three Man Band vs. Miz, Alberto Del Rio (with Ricardo Rodriguez), and the Brooklyn Brawler

    • The air guitar playing by 3MB pales in comparison to the air guitar played by the New Day.
    • Del Rio rolls out in his Lamborghini.  The person in the room watching with me just proclaimed, “This is really stupid.” 
    • Then the Brooklyn Brawler came out.  He was wearing a number 8, Deron Williams, Brooklyn Nets NBA Jersey. 
    • Heat on Brawler as the announcers just name old wrestlers with dumb gimmicks.
    • Miz hits the Skull Crushing Finale on Jinder Mahal then Brawler put him in the Brooklyn crab for the submission win.

    John Cena vs. Dolph Ziggler in a ladder match for the Money in the Bank contract

    • Dolph was putting a sleeper on Cena and Cena still climbed the ladder until Cena fell and put both of them through a table.
    • WWE rule 3:  Tables are allowed in ladder matches.  But not chairs.  We mean it.
    • Cena lifted a ladder with Ziggler on it, onto his shoulders.  Really cool spot.
    • JBL is vehemently opposed to this match, as it’s unfair to Dolph, somehow. 
    • Zig Zag on Cena.
    • Cena was busted hard way. 
    • Dolph must have gotten my memo on ladder climbing speed.  Cena did not.
    • JBL spouts out some stats about Ziggler’s amateur wrestling credentials, and Cole said that those don’t matter.  Noted.
    • Wait, chairs are legal after all.  So WWE Rule 4 is now: All ladder matches are TLC matches.
    • Vicki runs down and gets a chair to hit Cena, but AJ runs in and makes the save.  She bumps Vicki then does the “You Can’t See Me,” then Cena starts to climb the ladder and AJ turns on Cena and shoves over the ladder.  Dolph super kicks him and climbs the ladder and wins back his brief case.
    • Great finish.  Great match actually. 
    • The crowd went nuts on the AJ turn and on the Dolph win. 

    Great show.  Well worth watching.  It’s now number one on the list, which is now 4,3,1,2.

  • The Week In British Wrestling: Lucha Britannia, PROGRESS season tickets, more

    By Alan Boon for WrestlingObserver.com

    1) The big news this week is tickets!

    PROGRESS put their 2016 season tickets on sale: valid for every one of the eleven events held at Camden’s Electric Ballroom next year. They sold over TWO HUNDRED of them with the front row (priced at £264, roughly $400) and the gold (second and third rows, £242/$360) selling out in under a minute. The promotion has always had a great record of selling out shows without announcing a single match, but this is a leap of faith that demonstrates just how essential their shows have become to UK fans. Later in the week on the heels of their triumphant Fear & Loathing VIII show at Glasgow’s SECC, Insane Championship Wrestling put tickets on sale for Fear & Loathing IX at the Hydro, a building set up for 11,000 seats. On the first day alone they sold FIFTEEN HUNDRED tickets, which is more than TNA sold the last time they ran the Hydro in January of this year. All that for a promotion with no TV and a niche product which owes more to classic ECW than a mainstream pro-wrestling product.

    2) One of the UK’s best kept secrets is Lucha Britannia, presenting chaotic and innovative showcases in a disused railway arch in London’s East End.

    The promotion started way back in 2006 out of the ashes of RAMWA – Rock And Metal Wrestling Alternative. Showing no sign of – nor desire to – moving out of the two-hundred-capacity Resistance Gallery (which they own), their monthly shows sell out to a crowd made up of wrestling fans, hipsters, and curious onlookers. As well as products of their training school, the London School of Lucha Libre, their shows are populated by a who’s who of the UK’s brightest with Will Ospreay, Paul Robinson, RJ Singh, and even WWE World Heavyweight champion Sheamus having walked through the tightly-packed crowd to the ring. The school, by the way, has regular guest training spots by lucha legends Juventud Guerrera and Cassandro who are the only people from “our” dimension to have entered the “RetroFutureVerse” unchanged.

    Last Friday’s show saw Jimmy Havoc return to the promotion, resurrecting his exótico alter-ego Glamsexico to face Juventud Guerrera, as well as the debut of “Anunaki Pharaoh” Marduk Malik, a “Sumerian god” who hit an EIGHT-FOOT dropkick on his way to winning the opening Lucha Chaos match, which also featured Freddie Mercurio, the resurrected rock star.

    3) Another bold diversion from the traditional pro wrestling route trodden by most UK promotions is Tetsujin, who held their first show on Friday night in Liverpool.

    Aiming to present a shoot-style spectacle, along the lines of classic UWFI and Battlarts, and with bouts decided only by submission or knockout, they engaged a ton of the UK’s top names for a one-night only tournament, as well as two of Europe’s finest in Tommy End and Big Daddy Walter for a non-tournament slugfest. Fittingly, Jack Gallagher – a northern-based pure grappler who works a traditional British style of holds and reversals – came out on top, overcoming Zack Gibson, Dave Mastiff, and Chris Brookes on his way to the title. The show, held at the Black-E nightclub, did not draw fantastically well, but it’s a sign of the breadth of the UK scene that this promotion can exist and run on the same night as a lucha show.

    4) Zack Sabre Jr. made his final appearance for Pro Wrestling NOAH.

    Although he spends most of his time outside the UK, we still claim Sabre Jr. as our own and he made his final NOAH appearance with his future endeavours somewhat shrouded in mystery at this point. The smart money has him moving to California, where presumably he will continue to be a regular for Pro-Wrestling Guerilla, as well as EVOLVE and other US indies. The California aspect raises questions of whether Lucha Underground is in his future, but him being featured in a WWE.com article on EVOLVE’s best talent – along with the aggressive acquisition policy of NXT lately – can’t rule out a run in Orlando. Like Neville, who worked all over the UK for the best part of a decade as Pac, Sabre Jr. is held in high-regard by British indy fans, and his any further success will shine brightly on the scene that birthed him.

    5) After two quiet weeks show-wise, things woke up with a score of shows last weekend from the southwest of England to Scotland’s capital.

    Discovery Wrestling presented Live In Edinburgh, and brought TNA bootcamp stars Mark Andrews, Grado, and Rampage Brown in, alongside ICW’s Joe Coffey & Joe Hendry, Nikki Storm, and the “Beast of Belfast” Big Damo. Across Scotland, in Glasgow, Pride Wrestling also brought in Big Damo, Joe Coffey, and Nikki Storm, while further south in Manchester, Futureshock Wrestling held a tournament won by Zack Gibson. HOP:E did a quick two-day shot, in Mansfield and Milton Keynes, with el Ligero, Jack Jester, Doug Williams, the GZRS, and Martin Kirby featuring, and Mark Andrews and former-NXT prospect Joel Redman pulled on their boots for Pro-Wrestling Evolution in Trowbridge.

    The biggest show of the weekend, though, was Tidal Championship Wrestling’s 2nd Anniversary show at the University of Leeds, which drew a decent crowd to witness Dara Diablo retain his TCW title over el Ligero, on a show which also featured Rampage Brown, Tyler Bate, and Addy Starr, a former Inter-Species Wrestling (Quebec) competitor.

    *****

    Next weekend is a HUGE one for the UK scene, with PROGRESS opening their doors for their latest chapter and Preston City Wrestling presenting their Supershow Of Honor weekend, with Ring of Honor sending over reDRagon, Roderick Strong, Dalton Castle, and ROH champion Jay Lethal to mix it with the UK’s best.

  • UFC Fight Night 78 DFS Playbook: value picks, who to avoid

    The Octagon travels to Monterrey, Mexico for UFC Fight Night 78 on Saturday night, the third straight weekend of UFC action, with a main event of welterweight action as Neil Magny takes on Kelvin Gastelum. Below are our studs of the night, our value picks of the night, and fighters you should avoid on the night to help fill out your DraftKings lineups.

    STUDS

    Kelvin Gastelum ($10,900)

    Kelvin Gastelum is coming into his headline bout against Neil Magny with a lot of expectations on his shoulders, and he is hoping to live up to them. He is a good play against Magny, who comes into the fight on short notice as an injury replacement. Magny is solid competition, but one who has faltered when faced with the high-level competition. Magny is ranked based on the fact he has gone 8-1 in his last nine fights, but that has been against unranked competition, aside from the loss to Demian Maia. In that loss to Maia, Magny was finished, like he has in three of his four losses. Gastelum is a pressure fighter who will land a lot of punches, as long as he can get inside Magny’s reach, and he has solid submission skills. On a card where there might be a lot of decisions, Gastelum is a good bet to score a finish.

    Andre Fili ($10,700)

    Andre Fili makes his return to the Octagon after being out of action for eight months when he takes on Gabriel Benitez. Fili has been up-and-down during his UFC tenure but he has the chance to make a run as a legitmate 145-pound prospect. He has been submitted in both of his UFC losses, but he has looked good in his UFC wins, landing a lot of punches and getting one finish. He has an opponent in Gabriel Benitez who has won both of his UFC bouts, but hasn’t looked too great against the lower competition. Fili is a big step up in competition. Fili has a good chance to get a lot of points and score a finish.

    VALUE PICKS

    Taylor Lapilus ($9,400)

    Taylor Lapilus is a fast-rising bantamweight prospect who will get the toughest test of his career when he takes on Erik Perez. Perez is coming off a 17-month layoff when he makes his return, and he is coming off of being submitted by Bryan Caraway. There are some holes in the skills of Perez, and Lapilus is someone who can exploit them. Lapilus has good power and a very solid submission game, and he is good value as his price. He has the tools to give Perez some fits during the fight, and the chance to rack up some points.

    Hector Urbina ($8,900)

    Hector Urbina is coming into his fight against Bartosz Fabinski as a big underdog despite having won his last two fights by stoppage. Fabinski has won five straight fights and has eight knockout wins in his career, but he didn’t look like someone who was looking to finish when he got his decision win over Garreth McLellan in his UFC debut. He is also going into enemy territory taking on Urbina in Mexico. Urbina comes from a good camp in American Top Team, and he has scored 15 of his 17 wins by stoppage. Urbina, at his salary, is a very solid play that gives you good opportunity to spend up on higher-priced fighters.

    AVOID

    Ricardo Lamas ($11,200)

    Ricardo Lamas is the biggest favorite on this card and thus has the highest salary on the card. That makes it seem like he is a sure bet to win. However, he is fighting Diego Sanchez. Sanchez initiates brawls that make the job of the judges hard. He wins fights he probably should lose on the scorecards, and they are always too close for comfort. Sanchez is also extremely tough to finish, as only B.J. Penn has been able to do so, and that was due to a huge cut. Sanchez is coming off a long layoff and is making the move down to featherweight, and Lamas is a tough opponent for his first time out. Sanchez’ style and relentless aggression make it hard for me to suggest using Lamas, so I am avoiding him and spending my money elsewhere.

    Jussier Formiga ($8,300)

    Jussier Formiga has the second-cheapest salary for all of the fighters on the card when he takes on Henry Cejudo. For being ranked third in his division, not many are giving him much of a chance against Cejudo on Saturday night. There is good reason for that as Formiga has faltered against top-level competition, and he doesn’t score a lot of points in fantasy games as it is. He will likely be taken down a lot and probably will eat a lot of punches, and probably won’t be able to land a lot of punches either. He probably won’t be able to finish Cejudo either, much less defeat him. Only use Formiga if you are in a must-need situation as I will avoid him.

    OUR LINE-UPS

    RYAN FREDERICK- Henry Cejudo ($11,100), Kelvin Gastelum ($10,900), Vernon Ramos ($10,300), Hector Urbina ($8,900), Erick Montano ($8,800)

    I like Kelvin Gastelum and Hector Urbina for the reasons I stated above. I see them as having good chances at scoring finish wins in the early rounds, primarily by submission. I like Henry Cejudo to get a win, and he wants that title shot. He has an opponent in Jussier Formiga who can be finished, and Cejudo will be looking to score takedowns and finish it with ground-and-pound. Vernon Ramos is coming off of “TUF: Latin America 2” and has just three professional fights, but all three have been submission wins, and he gets an opponent who hasn’t fought since 2012. Erick Montano is a finalist of “TUF: Latin America 2”, and while he is the underdog against Enrique Marin, he has scored all six of his wins by stoppage, with five in the first round, and both of his wins on the show came by first-round stoppage. I like him at his cheap salary.

    PAUL FONTAINE- Ricardo Lamas ($11,200), Henry Cejudo ($11,100), Efrain Escudero ($9,500), Alejandro Perez ($9,200), Gabriel Benitez ($8,700)

    Lamas is about as close to a lock as there is on this card. Sanchez is WAY beyond his prime and would have losses in 4 of his last 5 fights if any of the judges had  actually watched his fight with Ross Pearson. Lamas has only lost to the champion Jose Aldo and #2 contender Chad Mendes in the last 4 1/2 years. He should make quick work of Sanchez here. Henry Cejudo has a tough test in Jussier Formiga who will be in a title eliminator for the third time. But Cejudo is trying to earn a title shot so expect him to win and in impressive fashion. He should land a lot of strikes in a 3 round war and score the win. Alejandro Perez is one of the top Mexican prospects and looks to be in somewhat of a showcase fight against Scott Jorgensen, who has lost 5 of his last 6 fights and may not be long for this sport. I’m taking a bit of a chance on Gabriel Benitez but he is on a 2 fight win streak and is  used to fighting in Mexico (which could be a big factor here). His opponent, Andre Fili, has a mediocre UFC record although he is the more expensive fighter  for your roster. My last pick is veteran Efrain Escudero who has won two straight since losing in his UFC return last year. He has looked great, even in that loss, and will be cheered on by the Mexican crowd and should be able to score a win over the Brazilian Leandro Silva.

    PEACH MACHINE- Ricardo Lamas ($11,200), Kelvin Gastelum ($10,900), Leandro Silva ($9,900), Alejandro Perez ($9,200), Gabriel Benitez ($8,700)

    I like Gastelum.  I think he’s going to dominate Magny, but it could take all five rounds, so I’m predicting big points from Gastelum.  I don’t like Escudero.  He’s really inconsistent and disappointing.  I’m taking Silva to beat him.  Ricardo Lamas and Sanchez are going to have a war.  I think Sanchez is done but will be a hard out.  I’m making the same argument against Jorgensen.  He’s done but will be a tough out for Perez.  Benitez over Fili.  I’m not convinced Fili is any good.

  • UFC Fight Night 78 Preview: 5 storylines to watch, betting odds & predictions

    The UFC returns for the third straight weekend as they debut in a new city as the Octagon travels to Mexico for the third time. It will be UFC Fight Night 78, which will also serve as the finale for The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America 2 when the UFC invades Monterrey for the first time this Saturday night. The main card airs on FS1 starting at 10 PM eastern time, with preliminary action kicking off on UFC Fight Pass at 6:30 PM eastern time before moving over to FS1 at 8 PM eastern time. We will have coverage all weekend here.

    The event will be headlined by a five-round welterweight bout as Neil Magny steps up, yet again, on short notice to take on Kelvin Gastelum, who looks to regain his traction in his return to the welterweight division. In the co-main event, it will be former featherweight title challenger Ricardo Lamas taking on the last man standing from the original TUF, Diego Sanchez. Also on the card is a potential flyweight title eliminator bout as Jussier Formiga takes on Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo. Let’s take a closer look at the night’s action and give you five storylines to keep an eye on during UFC Fight Night 78 on Saturday night.

    1. Will Kelvin Gastelum get back on track in the welterweight division in the main event?

    Kelvin Gastelum makes his return to the welterweight division in the main event of Saturday night’s UFC Fight Night 78 event, his first fight back at 170 pounds since missing weight badly for his bout against Tyron Woodley at UFC 183 in January. Gastelum has fought since then, scoring a dominant TKO win over Nate Marquardt as a middleweight at UFC 188 in June, but pleaded his case to UFC management to go back down to 170 pounds. They’re letting him, but another case of missing weight and he’ll be done as a welterweight. Gastelum has had the issues making the welterweight limit, officially missing weight twice and coming close a couple of other times. He says he has the issues under control, but that truly remains to be seen. If he has those issues taken care of, at 24-years-old, Gastelum has the chance to become a very serious threat in the division.

    Gastelum has just one loss in his career, to Woodley, but it was a close split decision loss that Gastelum almost won. He has scored eleven wins in his career, with eight coming by stoppage. He is the youngest winner of “The Ultimate Fighter” in show history, and is a huge prospect making his first main event appearance. His opponent, Neil Magny, is also making his first headline appearance as he fights for the fifth time this year, taking the fight on short notice as an injury replacement for Matt Brown. Magny is known as the man to call in the welterweight division to take a short-notice opportunity, as this will be his second straight year to fight five times. He won all five of his fights in 2014, and he has gone 3-1 in his four 2014 bouts. His lone loss over the past two calendar years came to Demian Maia at UFC 190 in August, a bout that Magny was outclassed in. For all of Magny’s success over the past two years, he has only fought one fighter that was ranked at the time of the fight- Maia. Gastelum will be the second as Magny looks for his second straight win after defeating Erick Silva in August, just three weeks after his loss to Maia, in another bout he took on short notice.

    Gastelum is a strong prospect and has the chance to be fighting for the title down the line if he can keep his weight issues in check. His size makes him better suited for the welterweight division, where he will be the relative same size as his opponents. It’s important for him to keep his weight in check. As far as his fight against Magny, it will be an interesting test. Magny isn’t a flashy fighter, but he gets the job done well. He has some decent power, but it has been showcased against lower-level competition. Magny will have a nine-inch reach advantage over Gastelum, which he will need to use to keep Gastelum on the outside. Gastelum is a solid wrestler and has some good power in his hands as well. Both men land a lot of strikes, and Gastelum eats a lot of punches. Neither man have gone 25 minutes. Gastelum, with the huge cut, may not have the energy to make it. Magny, with the short notice, may not either. This is a decent fight to make on short notice, but I like Gastelum to get the job done and move back up the rankings.

    2. How much fight does Diego Sanchez have left?

    And then there was one. Diego Sanchez is the last man standing in the UFC from the original cast of “The Ultimate Fighter” after the recent retirement of Mike Swick and the UFC departure of Josh Koscheck. Sanchez makes his long-awaited return on Saturday night in the co-main event, and in doing so, he will join another “TUF” alum, Kenny Florian, as a fighter to compete in four different weight classes in UFC competition as he makes the move to the featherweight division. It is an interesting time for a fighter to be dropping down with the IV ban, and with a long history of injuries, it is unsure how much fight Sanchez has left. He is 2-3 in his last five fights, but the two wins were split decisions that could’ve gone either way, so we are looking at a fighter that could very well have been on a five-fight losing skid. Sanchez is still only 33-years-old, but after having been with the UFC thru some 282 events, we may be seeing the end of the road for “The Nightmare”.

    Sanchez will take on former featherweight title challenger Ricardo Lamas, the fourth-ranked fighter at 145 pounds in the UFC. Lamas is coming off a first-round knockout loss to Chad Mendes in April, and is looking to erase the sting of his first stoppage loss inside the Octagon. It is a tough first outing for Sanchez at 145 pounds, but we are talking about one of the most experienced fighters in the UFC. Only a handful of fighters have had more time inside the Octagon than Sanchez, who has fought for a title and fought in a main event seven times, and has been in countless “Fight Of The Year” fights. Sanchez has a penchant for having extremely close fights, and most have gone his way. This will probably be another close fight as both land solid punches, and it will likely stay on the feet. It will be a chess match, but at this stage, Lamas is simply a better fighter. Unless we see the Diego Sanchez of old, it will be Lamas walking away with the win.

    3. Who will secure the next title shot at 125 pounds when Jussier Formiga and Henry Cejudo square off?

    For all intents and purposes, the flyweight bout between Jussier Formiga and Henry Cejudo at UFC Fight Night 78 on Saturday will determine the next challenger for UFC Flyweight Champion Demetrious Johnson. That is definitely the case for Cejudo, who comes into the fight undefeated at 9-0 and has been being groomed for a title shot. Formiga has won three straight fights, and he isn’t quite a 100% lock, but if he were to put a 1 in the loss column of Cejudo, you have to think he will be given a crack at Johnson despite having lost prior UFC bouts to Joseph Benavidez and John Dodson, who have been frequent Johnson challengers in the short history of the UFC flyweight division. It will be an interesting battle on Saturday as it will be Formiga’s grappling skills going against the Olympic wrestling game of Cejudo.

    Cejudo is the most decorated wrestler in the UFC, having won an Olympic gold medal at the 2008 Olympics. His striking has gotten better with every fight, and he hasn’t seen much of a need to rely on his wrestling skill, though he has recently, to win fights as he has won them primarily on the feet. Formiga is very experienced on his feet, but is capable of being knocked out, and aside from a submission win off a headbutt over Scott Jorgensen, he hasn’t shown the finishing capability in the Octagon. Cejudo hasn’t finished an opponent either, but he has yet to lose a round in the UFC. Cejudo is wanting that crack at Johnson and the title shot, and if he keeps his weight issues in check, which he has since dropping back down, he may give Johnson the toughest test to date. Formiga is Cejudo’s toughest foe, and while he has three straight wins, he hasn’t quite lived up to expectations. He has fallen short against the elite competition, and this fight is shaping up for that to happen again. Look for Cejudo to cement his shot at the title.

    4. Will Efrain Escudero make it three straight against Leandro Silva?

    Efrain Escudero has done something that no other fighter in the history of the UFC has been able to do. He is the only fighter to ever win a season of “The Ultimate Fighter” to be cut and then brought back to the promotion. In fact, this is Escudero’s third stint in the UFC. He won season eight of “TUF” but went just 3-2 in his first UFC stint, not a bad record by any means, but was cut after missing weight badly in his loss against Charles Oliveira. He was brought back in late 2011 as an injury replacement, but was cut again after two straight losses. He was brought back in 2014, and while he lost his return to Leonardo Santos, he has since won two straight to get himself back on track, and in his hopes, finally showing his potential in his third UFC stint.

    It was almost five years between UFC wins for Escudero, but he goes into Saturday night against Leandro Silva looking for his first three-fight win streak inside the Octagon. Escudero’s last win was a 54-second submission win over Drew Dober in June, and he went on to coach this season of “TUF: Latin America 2”, and he will be one of the more popular fighters on the card. His opponent, Silva, should be on a three-fight win streak if not for an error by a referee that made his own win over Dober into a no contest, and he will be a tough test for Escudero. Escudero has some solid wrestling, but Silva is a good grappler. They are pretty even on the feet. Silva is a larger opponent and has used his strength to maintain top position in prior fights. Neither man is creeping up on being ranked in the division, but neither want to be in a position of being cut. I like Escudero to pull off a decision win.

    5. Who is a fighter to keep an eye on during the rest of the card?

    The card will feature the finals in the welterweight and lightweight tournaments coming off of “TUF: Latin America 2” when Erick Montano faces Enrique Marin in the welterweight finals, and Horacio Gutierrez takes on Enrique Barzola in the lightweight finals. Also on the card is a former winner of “TUF: Latin America” as Alejandro Perez, who won the first season in the bantamweight division, takes on UFC and WEC veteran Scott Jorgensen, who is looking to get back on track after a disappointing 4-7 tenure during his time with the UFC. In featherweight action, Gabriel Benitez will take on Team Alpha Male member Andre Fili. In the opening bout of the night, it is two powerful Brazilian lightweights as Valmir Lazaro takes on Michel Prazeres.

    We wanna keep our eye on the featured preliminary bout as Erik Perez returns from a long layoff to take on Taylor Lapilus. Perez was thought to become the Mexican star the UFC was looking for, but he hasn’t quite lived up to recent expectations. After winning eight straight fights, including his first three UFC bouts. He has since lost two of his last three bouts, and he hasn’t fought since a June 2014 loss to Bryan Caraway. He gets a tough foe in Lapilus, who is an interesting prospect at 135 pounds. Lapilus is 10-1 in his career and has won five straight fights, including his last two in the UFC. He hasn’t fought someone at the level of Perez, who had been ranked in the top 15 before the bout of inactivity. It is a tough test for both men as Perez looks to bounce back and Laplius looks to score the biggest win of his career. We will keep an eye on that bout for sure.

    Full UFC Fight Night 78 Fight Card, Betting Odds & Predictions

    MAIN CARD (FS1- 10 PM ET/7 PM PT)

    Welterweights: (#13) Neil Magny vs. (#15) Kelvin Gastelum
    Betting Odds:     Magny (+230), Gastelum (-270)
    Prediction: Gastelum by decision

    Featherweights: (#4) Ricardo Lamas vs. Diego Sanchez
    Betting Odds:     Lamas (-590), Sanchez (+445)
    Prediction: Lamas by decision

    Flyweights: (#3) Jussier Formiga vs. (#5) Henry Cejudo
    Betting Odds:     Formiga (+400), Cejudo (-500)
    Prediction: Cejudo by decision

    TUF: Latin America 2 Welterweight Finals: Erick Montano vs. Enrique Marin
    Betting Odds:     Montano (+160), Marin (-185)
    Prediction: Montano by submission in round 1

    TUF: Latin America 2 Lightweight Finals: Horacio Gutierrez vs. Enrique Barzola
    Betting Odds:     Gutierrez (-150), Barzola (+130)
    Prediction: Gutierrez by knockout in round 2

    Lightweights: Efrain Escudero vs. Leandro Silva
    Betting Odds:     Escudero (+120), Silva (-140)
    Prediction: Escudero by decision

    PRELIMINARY CARD (FS1- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT)

    Bantamweights: Erik Perez vs. Taylor Lapilus
    Betting Odds:     Perez (-125), Lapilus (+105)
    Prediction: Perez by decision

    Welterweights: Hector Urbina vs. Bartosz Fabinski
    Betting Odds:     Urbina (+165), Fabinski (-190)
    Prediction: Urbina by submission in round 2

    Bantamweights: Scott Jorgensen vs. Alejandro Perez
    Betting Odds:     Jorgensen (-145), Perez (+125)
    Prediction: Jorgensen by decision

    Featherweights: Gabriel Benitez vs. Andre Fili
    Betting Odds:     Benitez (+165), Fili (-190)
    Prediction: Fili by submission in round 2

    PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 6:30 PM ET/3:30 PM PT)

    Welterweights: Vernon Ramos vs. Alvaro Herrera
    Betting Odds:     Ramos (-165), Herrera (+145)
    Prediction: Ramos by knockout in round 1

    Lightweights: Cesar Arzamendia vs. Polo Reyes
    Betting Odds:     Arzamendia (-190), Reyes (+165)
    Prediction: Arzamendia by decision

    Lightweights: Valmir Lazaro vs. Michel Prazeres
    Betting Odds:     Lazaro (+105), Prazeres (-125)
    Prediction: Lazaro by decision

  • Why the Jimmy Snuka prosecutor gag order worked

    By Irvin Muchnick, Concussion Inc. author

    Two weeks ago, a Pennsylvania judge, at the request of the district attorney, issued a gag order in the murder trial of retired wrestling superstar Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka for the 1983 death of his girlfriend Nancy Argentino.

    The gag order had its immediate intended effect: Nancy’s sisters were prevented from talking with CBS News about the longest-running cold case in the history of the Lehigh Valley, and 48 Hours decided to put on indefinite hold an hour-long episode in pre-production.

    Of course, 48 Hours promises to jump right back in when the gag order expires. But I believe that, by then, the national coverage could be tepid and cookie-cutter: just another story of a well-connected celebrity getting away with something for too long, and the victim’s family’s quest for a measure of justice.

    From my perspective, the larger story comes in between now and then, but because of the gag order, is likely to get short shrift. I’m referring to hard-hitting examination of the original police and prosecution work — either botched or downright corrupt — that kept the Snuka case on the back burner for more than 30 years.

    And make no mistake: it is the national media, and the national media alone, that would tell that story, certainly not the Allentown Morning Call.

    True, it was the Morning Call’s better-late-than-never 2013 front-page package that finally got Lehigh County District Attorney James B. Martin moving again. But the newspaper also carefully fudged then, and continues not to make clear to its readers today, the aspects calling out an overly incestuous local criminal justice establishment.

    Specifically: Martin was first assistant D.A. in ’83 under William Platt, who is now a senior state judge. Several of the same individuals and institutions that let Snuka slide, at the time and for many years now, bear the current burden of delivering to a jury a case of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Almost no one is talking about this disconnect.

    Peter L. Pavlovic, a retired police officer in another county township, encapsulated the problem in a letter to the Morning Call. In order to have a truly “fresh look” at the Snuka case, Pavlovic argued, “You need a new investigation team, and that should be the state police, not a county detective who investigated the case as a Whitehall police detective and did not file any charges. This case was not rocket science; this case was a case of conflicting stories by the person involved. This was a case of just bad police work.”

    Meanwhile, in a ham-handed attempt to chill the First Amendment rights of one of his constituents, D.A. Martin earlier this year sued Bill Villa, an Allentown advertising man who blogs about local skulduggery at his site “Lehigh Valley Somebody.” Martin sued Villa for defamation for having the audacity to write, among other things, that the D.A. (as a reelection candidate) and the Morning Call have used the services of the same law firm. What had started Villa in his muckraking avocation was the soft-pedaled prosecution of a son of one of the law firm’s partners. The son, Robert LaBarre, was convicted of vehicular homicide in the drunk-driving accident in which Villa’s daughter Sheena was killed.

    This is not the place for reviewing the LaBarre case, except to say that almost immediately after the 2006 incident, LaBarre, who had been released without bail, jetted to Belize to party. The Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas judge who allowed all this, with no consequences, was Robert Steinberg — earlier one of the assistants who sat in with D.A. Platt at the June 1, 1983, meeting with Vince McMahon that culminated in no charges for Snuka.

    The upshot of the parallel chilling of national media scrutiny in the Snuka case — via a gag order with neither merit nor constitutional basis — is that Snuka might very well get off the hook. Or he might be allowed, with little scrutiny, to plead guilty to the misdemeanor charge of involuntary manslaughter (for not calling early enough for emergency medical attention) in return for dropping the felony charge of third degree murder in the traumatic brain injury death of Argentino. Remember that the original coroner’s autopsy report said Argentino had sustained a pattern of bruises throughout her body “consistent with ‘mate abuse.’”

    In my estimation, today’s justice calculus goes beyond whether the 72-year-old Snuka, who is recovering from stomach cancer surgery, should do prison time for an incident from three decades ago. His conviction at trial on the felony count is no sure thing, anyway, given how stale prosecutors let the evidence against him become. There is nothing of importance in the September indictment of Snuka not fully known to them in ‘83.

    Did garden-variety incompetence, or WWE-greased corruption, derail swift and sure justice? Thanks to the gag order (issued by yet another former assistant D.A., Judge Kelly Banach, who had worked under Martin), we might never have that important public conversation regarding whatever kept the Snuka-Argentino file buried and in suspense for so long.

    As is well known, Snuka’s own 2012 autobiography went to the trouble of recounting how his boss McMahon carried a briefcase into his meeting with Platt, Steinberg, and three Whitehall Township police detectives. Whether or not that was true (or whether it mattered even if true), WWF’s tri-weekly syndicated television tapings at the Allentown Fairgrounds and in nearby Hamburg were ongoing shots of Chamber of Commerce steroids for all of Eastern Pennsylvania.

    The only arguably new information in the September grand jury presentment was the testimony of Snuka’s ex-wife and of Buddy Rogers’ widow that Snuka had shown a pattern of domestic violence against the ex-wife. In that connection, the gag order eases the pressure on prosecutors to develop additional witnesses who might have come forward subsequent to the grand jury.

    Recently a woman, whose bona fides checked out, contacted Concussion Inc. with information about her time as Snuka’s girlfriend in the 1990s. The information included both allegations that Snuka abused her and a claim that he gave her an account of how Nancy Argentino had died. The account purportedly identified the blunt object in the hotel room that Nancy’s head struck.

    Unfortunately, instead of advancing on such angles, the national media are in retreat. The gag order has jeopardized the full airing of something more than your average celebrity murder case.